If you were not at the DFW NACE program in January you missed a riveting presentation on event security from Kevin Mellott with ERASE Enterprises.

A couple of the highlights and things to know are:

In addition to threats to the safety of your event guests and staff from disruptive people (whether attendees or not) threats can also take the form of theft of equipment and even sensitive intellectual property. For example, Hackers can tie in to network connections in hotels and even hack in to your phone and computer from the parking lot outside your office and especially at places like Starbucks. Covering your bases and knowing the level of security on network connections you are using is important to be aware of.

Violent crime is up in Dallas. The average police response time in the City of Dallas is going up. It can take 8-60 minutes for police to respond to your emergency. Be prepared. At the end of the day, an Event Planner should take the safety of their guests seriously and have plans in place on how to deal with any potential situations while you wait for the police to arrive – ahead of time.

The chart (___________) shows the types of call classifications that DPD is using now for response time goal guidelines, which they have not been making this past year. The second chart shows the rise in violent crime statistics for 2015. The 2016 stats are not done yet but Mr. Mellott tells us that they are still increasing.

This is a tough situation for everyone involved, specifically the citizens and businesses in the city. For more information on how to address your security concerns contact DFW NACE member Helena Bell by email at Helena@erase.com.